John Boyega at a Black Lives Matter protest in Hyde Park in June. He says that his Star Wars role brought him racist abuse and that Disney failed to develop his characterJohn Boyega, chosen as the new face of Disney’s multibillion-pound Star Wars franchise, has suggested that his character was a token black person who was sidelined by the studio and given no depth. The British actor’s appearance in the first shot of the teaser trailer in 2014, rising into frame on a desert planet, suggested that he would form the backbone of the three-film project to complete the long-running space saga. Boyega, 28, who recently spoke out about the marginalisation of black people in a speech to protesters in Hyde Park, central London, said in an interview with GQ magazine that Disney had failed to develop Finn after the first film and put all their energy into the white characters played by Daisy Ridley

Source: The Times September 02, 2020 16:07 UTC